Waiting
by ImaginaryHomeforFriends
Summary: AU where the Doctor is the ringmaster of a famous and mysterious circus. Rose goes to watch and finds herself enthralled. (Ten/Rose with tons, of other characters including Jack, Donna, Martha, Astrid, and a few others).


"Come on babe, it's not here, I'll buy you a new one later." Mickey said, sounding exasperated and tired and yes, a bit drunk too. Rose took her left hand and spanned the length of it around her right wrist, her very empty right wrist. She had no idea how she didn't feel the utter wrongness when she was leaving the circus tent but now all she could think was '_you lost it, you lost it, you lost it_' and she truly did feel like she was losing it. "It's just an ugly piece of jewelry anyways, we got to go before all the cabs are gone." Her boyfriend whined and Rose stood up, distracted momentarily from her crawling on the ground by the tent and she placed her hands on her hips. She gave Mickey an infamous look, a look reserved only for the men in the Tyler woman's life who had crossed a very defined line.

"Go on then, I'll have a look 'round by myself." Rose waved him off with a flick of her wrist, but the motion caught the bareness of the limb and she was distracted from her annoyance quickly as she began to look around again.

"Aw come off it Rose-"

"I said go on then!" Rose yelled, shooting him a look before sucking in a deep breath. It wasn't Mickey's fault she had lost the one thing, the only thing in her life that was important. Well material wise, of course she found her mum important and on the days he wasn't annoying her to pieces she found she was rather content with Mickey. The bracelet had been a gift from her dad, her long deceased dad, and she had never taken it off since her mum had given it to her five years ago. "Really now, Shireen needs a good rest, take her home and I'll give you a call when I get home meself." She kept her voice soft and Mickey swaggered up to her in a way he thought made him look tough and sexy but just looked utterly ridiculous. When she told him that he scoffed at her and gave her foot a nice kick before moving off to help Shireen to the line of cabs.

Rose turned back towards the circus tent that they had all just exited moments ago. It had been her idea to come, though it was a sweltering London night and both Mickey and Shireen would have rather gone to the pub. They were bored out of their minds but Rose had found the whole thing exhilarating.

That was until she lost her bracelet and was nearly brought to tears from the loss.

Rose straightened her back, jutted her chin in the air and strode back into the tent. She would cause a fuss if need be but she wasn't leaving without her bloody bracelet and that was that!

Her steam was promptly let out when she entered the tent. It was huge on the inside, which was rather surprising because the outside didn't look like much. The tent was old, once it had probably been a rich, beautiful blue but now it was torn and patched up together like the rest of the circus. But inside there was something in the air. Almost like the tent itself was holding it's breath. Her breath, Rose decided, if the tent was alive, and it certainly felt like it was, it had to be a female.

It was silent and empty but that didn't stop Rose Tyler. She strode over to where she had been sitting and got on her hands and knees on the sticky floor to look around her seat.

"Can't say this is the worst view I've had." A deep, purely masculine voice that was practically dripping sex said behind her.

"Oi!" She banged her head on the underside of the chair but didn't let that stop her from rising and glaring at him. Okay, so she had plenty of blokes commenting on her arse, and yes, that had been one of the nicer of the comments, and alright, if she had to admit this guy far outshined any of the blokes that had been doing the commenting but she was Rose Tyler, and she didn't stand for that sort of talk. Even if it was from a tall, dark haired, blue eyed, gorgeous man who had probably the best smile she had ever seen. Full of straight teeth and dimples.

"Get your fill or should I turn around?" His grin widened and Rose felt her cheeks heaten but she didn't back down.

"Yeah, you do that." Rose challenged, tilting her chin up. The man laughed, which surprised Rose and she found herself unwillingly smiling at him. She knew him immediately as one of the man from the circus acts. He had swallowed swords and spit fire, and had even stabbed a knife through his heart but Rose wasn't a child who could be fooled, she knew it was some sort of smoke and mirrors trick but she enjoyed it all the same, even gasped a bit when he did it.

"Names Jack Harkness, Captain Jack Harkness." He held out a hand and Rose slipped her own into his. She didn't know why but she found herself relaxing around him. She knew it didn't have to do with his looks, she wasn't that shallow and she knew from past experiences that the prettier the face, the more damage they would do. But she just felt a strange sort of- kinship, yes kinship was the word. Like she knew him.

"Captain? In a circus?" Rose asked, sliding her hand out of his before flexing her fingers. She had a strange sort of déjà vu, which was an oddity. This was by far the strangest and weirdest situation she had ever been in, so how could it all feel so familiar?

"Everyone's gone home, why haven't you?" Jack asked, obviously avoiding the question.

"I lost my bracelet, I was lookin' for it." Rose rubbed her wrist and looked around.

"Well the cleaners have already gone through, so if they picked it up it'd be back this way." Jack started to move down the aisles but when he noticed Rose wasn't following him he turned back towards her. "Come on Rose, don't you want to find what you're looking for?" Rose's feet moved of their own accord and she found herself following behind him, down the rows of aisles, across the main floor, and to the back area.

Perhaps Rose would have realized that the Captain had called her by her name, though she had not given it to him but the tent, the very much alive feeling tent felt alive and that very much distracted Rose Tyler. Because it sounded like it was humming with excitement, still holding its breath.


End file.
